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I definitely recommend north dakota. This is still one of the last great places on earth, at least the US. I grew up in Bowbells and liked it but never really appreciated how nice I had it until I left. I have lived in Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, and Indiana and while they all have nice aspects, none of them measure up to north dakota. Sure, the pay might not be as good, but you can buy a house for almost nothing, land is cheap, the people are friendly, and everybody will help out when needed. If you have car trouble on one the roads that is not an interstate almost every car will stop to see if you need help. Good luck out east! Great natural resources, great hunting if you are interested in that, good fishing, etc. Where else is the population stable or decreasing and the wildlife expanding? North Dakota is seeing increased wildlife and species expansion like nowhere else. Moose are rapidly expanding, cougars are spreading, elk are increasing, mule deer are increasing range in north dakota but are dissapearing everywhere else.
Jobs might be scarce but are out there. Almost every small town that still has a school will give you a job teaching if you can qualify, if you bring a family and kids they will bend over backwards to get you to move there. The schools are small but great (the teachers actually care if you learn). Almost everyone graduates, highest in the country I beleive, and they can read and add unlike the scools in indiana. Sure, there is probably some racism but I beleive that most of that is purely ignorance from never being around other races. Most people dont care what color you are or where you came from as long as you are honest, hard working and have some morals.
If you are not any of those things then everyone will know it because they are small communities and everybody knows everything about everybody.
Good luck in relocation. If you are even remotely considering moving to a small town in the dakotas I would recommend calling the school and talking to the principle or superintendent and asking them about the area. They will love to talk to anybody interested in coming there and will know everything about the area.
I'm interested in moving myself and my family out to North Dakota. The Mandan area has caught my eye
I would like to move to an area with conditions similar to when I grew up. Someplace where I can live a nice, quiet, respectful, law-abiding, God-fearing life.
All I want to do is work my days away to make a decent living, pay my taxes, buy a nice-sized single home where the highlight of my day after work is mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, washing my car and watching a little TV in peace after supper.
Lord knows this impossible where I currently live.
Help, please
If you'd like to live a "God-Fearing" life, I'd take HWY 200's advice - Move 20-30 miles outside of Bis-Man. Bismarck - Mandan isn't Las Vegas and the crime rate is negligable compared to the rest of the country but, culturaly, its not much less liberal than the rest of the country - As you move out in to the country, Its more conservative.
Also, the home prices are ALOT cheaper and as Bis-Man expands will likely see some good appreciation. I would disagree with HWY 200 about schools in the small towns being better though- Its probably easier to shelter you're children there but then they don't offer the same bredth of classes (Advanced Placement, etc.) they do in Bismarck - Mandan. Also the Bismarck - Mandan schools tend to show higher test scores than the small town schools. Don't get me wrong, test scores in the surrounding countryside are still much better than the national average but still arn't as high as they are in Bis-Man.
Good luck, Western ND is booming right now so hopefully you can find a job: try jobsnd.com
From What I know, These are the Major Banks in Bis-Man
Wells Fargo
US Bank - Large regional
BNC National Bank - Smallish but bigger than the other locals, publicly traded, opps in ND, AZ, and MN - HQ in Bismarck
Starion Finanical- Small Local
Bank Center First - Small Local
Dakota Comunity Bank - Small - Based in a small town in ND somewhere, expanding into Bisman
Bank of North Dakota - Only state owned bank in the country HQ in Bismarck
I think they'res another one but I can't remember. They'res also a few credit unions.
Also might want to check out MDU Resources Group - HQ in Bismarck - They're a pretty large publicly traded company that's growing quite quickly - they always seem to be hiring financial types in Bismarck.
Don't know if you have made your decision yet on a location, but our community is only 35 minutes from Bismarck-Mandan-quiet small rural community with great new high school. Good, peaceful place to raise a family. Can email info@livehazelton.com for any questions. Free lots to build a new home till end of year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmuss1
I'm interested in moving myself and my family out to North Dakota. The Mandan area has caught my eye
I would like to move to an area with conditions similar to when I grew up. Someplace where I can live a nice, quiet, respectful, law-abiding, God-fearing life.
All I want to do is work my days away to make a decent living, pay my taxes, buy a nice-sized single home where the highlight of my day after work is mowing the lawn, trimming the hedges, washing my car and watching a little TV in peace after supper.
Lord knows this impossible where I currently live.
Go to this website: http://www.nd.gov/ and rummage around the links. You can link to just about any info you want, be it demographics, economy, local laws, crime stats, even infectious diseases if you want.
As a banker, you understand due dilligence, and I encourage you to check the state out.
I just seen an ad in the local paper that the local Credit Union (fast growing) is looking for a banker. You might want to check it out. It would be a good way to see what wages are for your profession.
I can let everyone give a plug for their town without giving one for mine. Minot, ND is constantly growing with new businesses coming constantly. We are not large compared to Fargo, Grand Forks, and Bismarck, but we are the 4th largest city in the state. We host the State FAir, and the Scandinavian Hostfest. Our housing cost are cheaper than the other three along with property taxes. As for a job, check out Job Service North Dakota and see what is available. Also call some of the local banks and talk to the bank president. The bank presidents and other business owners in Minot are well known and very down to earth. If you want some more information, please contact me.
I'll add my 2 cents worth. I am in a unique position in that i don't live in the US. My job has me posted in Taiwan and I have lived overseas for the last 20 years. For the last 10-12 years I have been spending as much time as possible around Minot and love it. In 2004 I bought a place with 48 acres SE of Minot just off Hwy 52 half way between Minot and Sawyer.
I love the people. I enjoy the hunting and fishing. The clean air is wonderful. The one thing that you MUST be aware of is that the well water in the Minot area is pretty bad. I am on Rural Water and that is pretty good. Go out and visit the area you want to move to...in the WINTER. Winters are brutal. Temps down to -30F are not uncommon. The snow is mostly dry and blows around a lot and drifts.
I was born and raised in SW Montana, which is no slouch for a nice place to live. I think the real estate taxes are pretty high. Now I am waiting my time until I retire.....only 1197 days to go, but who's counting.
You should check out Washburn. It too has a population of around 1200, but it is only 35 miles from Bismarck, down Hwy 83.
As per getting a job in Bismarck, there are more banks around here than Churches or even bars. It seems like they are putting new ones up everyday, so you should not have too much to worry about. In addition, as far as salary goes, The wages here are lower, but remember that the cost of almost everything else is lower too. I live in Bis in a neighborhood with brand new homes, and I can tell you that a nice one will sell for around $195,000 for around 1500 square feet up and the same down (unfinished).
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